Horse won't come in

schneeko

schneeko

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We have one field at the yard where you can't see the yard from the field and my horse really doesn't like leaving the other horses to come in. He will walk over to me, stay with me while I sit in the field and even starts to follow when I leave. I'm sure he just doesn't want to come in alone but bringing another horse doesn't seem to help

Any suggestions?

When I do try to lead him, he gets so far and then turns round and tanks off and there's nothing I can do about it
 
Definitely do not chase after him at least he comes up to you. Do you manage to catch him ie put a rope over his neck and slip headcollar on? Then does he tank off???ie does he get away from you?

Food does that work?

Trouble is if the grass is growing you may have trouble, we had a very nice horse(doesnt sound it) and we just couldnt catch it for 6 weeks!! But it was fortunately a temporary thing.Even was happy out on his own the rascal.

I can only think food. Even 5 pony nuts shaken ie in a trug or leave the trug(something he knows food is in) the other side of the gate something nicer? ie a bit more(jug of nuts) so he has to come out & be caught. Have some food in your pocket. But dont over do it, no catch no treat. But dont start of habit of him being caught and realising he is stronger than you and getting away from you. If he buggers off just leave him walk the other way.

Thats all I can think of.
 
I would turn him out in a headcollar so at least you stand more chance of grabbing him. If he tanks off I would just leae him there (if you are allowed) my boy went through a horrible phase of pretending to be really brave about being on his own and refusing to come in so I left him for a few hours on his own, calling like a pathetic baby and he's never done it again!
 
You obviously have a very good relationship with your horse in that he likes being with you. I just wonder if he's the sort of horse who is overly dependent on other horses and in the field, he is able to make his own decisions, whereas submitting to going with you, means he has to leave the security of the herd. For some horses, no matter how obliging, that is quite a big 'ask'.
My suggestion would be to up your leadship with a matter of fact approach, make him walk beside you briskly, don't look at him, look ahead, flick his flank with the lead rope if he drags his feet. The instant he starts to turn to run, bring his head swiftly back, keep looking forwards and growl,'walk on'. Move as though you expect him to comply and ignore any attempts to rush or dawdle by walking at your own business like pace.
Other approaches are, stop and back up, move his feet in a circle round you, - any thing that dictates leadership and keeps his focus on you. Demonstrating your sense of leadership will increase his confidence because he'll see you as the decision maker who can be depended on.
 
Put a bridle on him and get tough. He is being smart - of course he doesn't want to leave his mates but he isn't allowed a say in the matter.

Once you have him out of the paddock, walk smartly to the yard, look ahead and don't let it even cross your mind that he may b****r off back to the paddock. A very strong positive mental attitude should work.

Give him a very small feed when he comes in - just a handful to make him feel special.
 
All the suggestions are good, you could also try leading him with a lunge line, just so you have some room to manouver when he goes, and you can still hang on to him! My boy has the same sort of problem , he rears to tell you he doesnt want to come in, iv got tough and he seems to have gotten over it!!
 
To all the people with useful suggestions, thank you, definately will try him in a bridle, though a lunge line would be very dangerous if he got away

However, how will leaving a headcollar on him help? I can catch him, put a headcollar on and lead him part of the way. He wants to be with me, he just needs the security of other horses too.
 
Yeah with using the lunge line, you have got to be ultra confident you wont let go...bridle idea is great i just use a head piece and bit, easy to get on quickly (less fussing for horse)
 
My pony used to do this. We'd be walking along and suddenly, "seemingly" out of the blue, he'd spin and bomb off. I learned to spot the signs - a slight raise of the head and glance around and ears suddenly pointing someplace else - and give him a quick sharp tug on the leadrope to say "hey, listen to me" and it almost seemed to surprise him and make him forget what he was planning. He'd "think" it a few times but once I'd got him past his favourite tanking off spots he'd be fine.

Not a nice experience to deal with though. Until you've got it cracked I'd recommend just looping a long leadrope through the headcollar so he doesn't damage himself when he tanks off.
 
My youngster was doing this - barging and just buggering off whilst being led - didnt want to use a bridle as didnt want to pull her in the mouth - so bought a rope halter and used a 12 ft rope/line, so i put it on her and sort of set the situation up,(equipped with my hat and gloves) (she was buggering off and bargy when i was trying to put her fly mask on) low and behold she went to run, two hard tugs on the halter and hey presto an instant shocked *stop* a couple of small reminders when she went to do it again and i tell you what she didnt do it again - same tonight - a gentle reminder when she went to barge and i got an instnt stop again, and for the rest of the session she was good as gold.
Fantastic result.
It becomes dangerous when they think they are boss and they start testing you out - especially bolting in hand/pulling away and being bargy.
 
You could try a kemp controller for a while. It attaches to the headcollar with clips on the nose band part and the lead rope, when the horse tries to get away, rush etc it tightens around the noseband, you release as soon as the horse behaves. Unlike a lot of controllers the kemp doesn't put pressure on the poll, resulting in a head shy horse. I use it on some of mine when they get a bit over themselves and it gives them a little reminder of who is boss. I also put a knot at the end of a cotton leadrope so It doesn't pull thro my hands when they try to run off.
 
Ok, so, you're doing better than you might be... getting the head collar on is a good start!

If horse is pulling away during leading then agree that longer line is dangerous, as would be any kind of pressure/control halter/bit. Stick with your ordinary head collar, get good gloves, a lot of determination and maybe an instructor for some ground work too! (Groundwork lessons can be really helpful.)

Set aside some time for practising when you aren't planning on going anywhere and then try leading for a short distance, turning around and walking back again. Then try leading for a slightly longer distance, treating, leading back again. Basically make the leading NOT mean work, and NOT mean leaving the other horses for a long time. Might also be worth looking at if horse spooks at anything or is hurting feet on ground/could have got a shock off fencing or anything at the point he usually pulls away. Then do some desensitising to that, starting going in the direction of the field so he gets braver about it the 'easy' way first.
 
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